22 - Wang Zhelin

China

NBA Comparison: John Bryant

Strengths: Skilled 7 footer who shows impressive maturity and confidence ... Dominated the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) in his rookie season averaging 20.3 ppg 12.9 rpg in 36.5 mpg ... Was top 5 in the CBA in Offensive Rebounding % with 16%, as the ones in-front of his where all american players ... Has a good motor and consistently crashes the boards ... Uses his strong, thick legs to get positioning and has good instincts grabbing rebounds and looks to finish or draw contact after offensive rebounds ... Advanced footwork in the post most often gets him in scoring position where he can finish with both hands ... Good, soft hands around the rim ... Very patient in the post and uses a combination of pump fakes and spins instead of rushing up bad shots ... Also likes to operate in the high-post where he favors driving left and spinning back over his left shoulder where he can finish with a right handed hook shot ... Sets good screens and also does a good job taking up space in the paint when teammates look to score ... Will be the starting Center for China for many years to come ...

Weaknesses: Not overly athletic ... Foot speed is rather slow as he uses strength and skill set to beat his defenders in China ... Will have problems against better stronger players at the next level ... Does not possess good leaping ability and is a slow repetitive jumper as he lands heavy ... Not a shot blocker ... Below average wingspan ... Defensively his slow foot speed makes it difficult for him to guard the pick and roll but he does give good effort ... Very inconsistent jump shot where he lacks confidence ... An average 63% free-throw shooter, but looking at his shooting mechanics one would assume he is a better shooter ... His potential looks limited as he already plays very mature

Overall: Wang Zhelin has proven himself quickly after a terrific first CBA season. However, Yao Ming comparisons should stop at his thick legs. He has not shown he can dominate like Yao Ming did before entering the NBA (although the CBA was a weaker league then). Best Chinese Center since Yao Ming (considering Yi Jianlian is a Forward)